Lido Shuffle
by NightcatMau
Summary: Valkyrie is sent back in time to help Lord Vile, but feels it is her last mission. Will she even see Skulduggery again when she returns? Mild Valduggery with a hint of Vilkyrie. Back by reader request. COMPLETE


A/N: I don't own Skulduggery, Lord Vile, or Valkyrie. Val is about oh, 40 here, her POV. She's sent to an alternate time and place to help Lord Vile of all people.

* * *

I was nervous, but I wouldn't let Skulduggery see it. I smiled at him bravely, nodding to show I understood his final instructions.

"As odd as it would seem, Valkyrie, you are going back in time, to save Lord Vile, not in our dimension of course. You'll be quite safe as he'll already be rendered helpless by the time you arrive. Your only job is to talk to him for two weeks, to offer mild protection or whatever you see fit. Just tell him about your Lord Vile, not mentioning my actual name of course, since he might not respond too well to that. Understood? Good."

I leaned in and hugged him at his invitation, breathing in the wonderful mix of wool and bone that always let me know I was safe because it meant he was near. He rarely hugged me any more, so I appreciated the gesture.

All too soon Skulduggery was pulling back and I was walking towards the portal, just a shimmering blue opening on the Sanctuary wall. I took a deep breath, not looking back because I knew I wouldn't leave if I did, and plunged in.

* * *

I came out in a forest, the trees towering overhead and I scanned the muddy road quickly looking for hoofprints or some other clue as to where I'd find Vile. There was nothing, which was odd considering the mud so I tried sensing the air currents and still nothing. Lastly I called on my ring, hoping Vile wouldn't sense the Necromancy and spring at me from out of nowhere as I didn't trust that he was at all helpless. I sensed something. The ring went cold, but barely, as if the signal was weak.

I walked off the road, following the faint signal through the undergrowth, and then I saw him. Lord Vile. His black armour throwing back what little sunlight that filtered through the trees, his presence still awe-inspiring even without his shadows. The moment the lack of shadows clicked in my mind I went closer, kneeling down to see if he was even alive. He was prone, not moving. My heart pounded and I expected an attack, but he seemed unable to move, his whole body rigid. The gaze behind the visor was still baleful and I knew he'd kill me if he could.

"Lord Vile." I said, and the baleful glare only intensified, his hatred for me all too clear. But I couldn't hate him in return. This was the future Skulduggery of this dimension, so I was careful as I helped him into a sitting position, realizing that he was pliable like a doll, but unable to move on his own. I felt a stab of compassion for him, since I knew it had to be killing him inside.

He couldn't move, but I knew he would have strangled me if he could by what sounded like the barest scrabble of skeletal hands in his heavy gauntlets. I smiled at him. "I'm not afraid of you." I said gently. "Where I come from, when I come from, well, I have no reason to fear you. I've been sent here to help you." Vile held my gaze and said nothing. I reminded myself that this was the future Skulduggery, that my mission was to protect him and talk to him no matter how much he hated me. But first I wanted him off the muddy ground.

I stood up, surveying the woods and saw a cave on a hillside. Hopefully only one entrance and we'd be out of the elements. I'd been told we'd have shelter so I guessed that was it. I turned back to Vile, drawing on the shadows the covered the dimly lit forest floor, standing him upright, the carrying him along beside me. It was odd, but I respected him enough to not just drag him along so I was careful with him. I set him at the cave entrance and he sagged as soon as his feet touched the ground. I went to him, putting on hand on his armoured chest, using the other to test the shadows inside the cave to make sure it was clear.

I tried to ignore the hateful gaze I could feel boring into me, and used the shadows to get him inside sitting him down along a natural rock shelf on the back wall of the cave. I shook the hand that had touched his chest, trying to get the feeling back into it. It had gone numb from the sheer intensity of touching Vile's armour, which was glacial.

I wondered if he was cold, I knew I was so I left him there and gathered kindling and firewood, starting a small fire for us. I looked at him, and although he faced straight ahead I knew his gaze was locked on me. Lord Vile seemed to try to hold me with his gaze, then he sagged from his effort, tilting over. Luckily into the cave wall so he didn't fall.

I went to him, steadying him with my hands, ignoring the pain touching him caused. He was the future Skulduggery here, I reminded myself. If I could love and care for my partner, if I could accept that he had once been Lord Vile, then I could help the man in front of me, because he might have a Valkyrie of his own some day who would need him every bit as much as I needed Skulduggery.

Tears came to my eyes and I could sense the contempt in Vile's visored gaze. "You think I'm crying for you?" I growled. "I miss my Lord Vile, that's all." I went back to the fire and I couldn't look at him for the longest time. Vile for his part seemed to shut down like Skulduggery did at times, and I felt him somehow retreating from my presence.

I left him to it, knowing it would be worse than useless to bother him. I felt useless then and there and wondered how on Earth Skulduggery thought my talking to this Vile would ever help anybody.

* * *

I had slept for a while and when I awakened it was nearing twilight. I rose to go for more wood and noticed several neatly stacked cords at the cave entrance, along with a basket of food. I froze. Skulduggery had said we'd have unseen protection all around us, but I didn't like the idea they had been there while we had both been helpless. I got some wood and tended to the fire, muttering to myself, not caring if Lord Vile heard me or not. "Just great, perfect. You're here less than a day and you almost manage to get Lord Vile killed. Way to complete the mission, idiot." I was careful not to say my name since Skulduggery and the others had advised me not to, and I knew my appearance was so different even my own mother wouldn't have known me.

Not that I saw how it mattered unless this Vile would meet his own Valkyrie some day. The thought made me smile. I knew it was time to start talking to him, he seemed a little more relaxed, as if wherever he'd gone to had calmed him. I wondered if it was to see his wife and child if only in his memories, but I didn't want to be cruel and hurt him by asking.

He caught me looking at him and his gaze was calm though I could swear he inclined his head fraction of a centimeter towards the basket. He had. He repeated the gesture and I nodded, rising to get some bread and cold meat. There was a leather flask of fresh water as well. I took the meal back to the fire, eating slowly. Skulduggery told me Lord Vile had rarely if ever spoke so I wasn't surprised he'd used a gesture to communicate. I _was_ surprised he'd wanted me to eat, since he wasn't known for his compassion.

I looked over at Lord Vile, trying to imagine what he was thinking. He didn't offer any clues, so I spoke. "You know, my Vile would have kept watch over me as I slept. Even if he was unable to move, he still wouldn't back down. He taught me that, to never back down." Vile glanced over at me and I knew he'd kept watch. Strange.

"Well, I'm here to watch over you for two weeks, and he wanted me to tell you about him, or rather, about us. I suppose I should start with the night I met him, you would have loved it. A family member had died, and I got the wonderful idea to spend the night alone at his house, even though I was only twelve. I missed him, and I needed the time alone with him, if it makes sense."

"I wasn't there that long when a man showed up, he got in, I can't ever remember how, I just remember I was trying to fight and doing a poor job of it." I glanced over at Vile and swore he looked faintly amused. I blinked, then continued. "I knew I was going to die, but I fought anyways. Suddenly the front door exploded inwards and Lord Vile came in, driving the man away from me. He set him on fire, then he shot him. I liked that."

Now I could feel Vile's amusement. "Well, in the fight the disguise he wears, we're in the future from you, no armour, came loose. Suddenly he was towering over me, or it felt like it, though he swears he was across the room. I, I uh-" I could feel Lord Vile's curiosity. "I blacked out, OK? Don't judge." I swore I heard a snort of laughter but I had to be imagining things. Lord Vile never laughed.

"But when I awoke, he was there. He made me tea, of all things. Um, leaves boiled in water, it tastes better than it sounds. The point is, he stayed, he protected me, and we stayed together after that, although I had to take his hat hostage." I looked over at Vile, he seemed to be far away, yet still listening. "You know, I just realized he could have always found another hat, I'm sure he had one somewhere nearby." I left out the Bentley, Skulduggery having warned me not to give too many specific details, though he'd been rather insistent Vile know about the hat.

"So he chose to take me with him. I became his partner, though he would say student. Then he's always said strange things like that. Unlike you, he's never silent." I looked over at Vile again, making sure he was still OK. He seemed fine. I got up and walked to the cave entrance, looking out into the moonlit night. I heard a vague metallic sound. I turned around and Vile was moving his head ever so slightly, trying to draw me back away from the entrance.

I went back to him. "We have people outside, I think we're safe. I wasn't in any danger, Lord Vile. You don't have to worry." But he did look worried. "All right, I'll stay back here near you. It's late so I suppose I should let the fire burn low and bank the embers." I made sure there was enough of them left to heat the cave through the night, then laid down close by Lord Vile and fell asleep.

* * *

In the morning he hadn't moved and I left the cave only for as long as I needed to, uneasy at the thought of how many pairs of unseen eyes could be watching me. I returned, replenishing the fire, and finding the last of the bread in the basket. Vile watched me as I ate and I wondered if he was thinking of his family. I'd never knew how old Skulduggery's child was, or if he'd had a son or daughter. He never talked about his family, ever. I never brought them up, respecting his silence.

But the look Vile was giving me wasn't exactly paternal either. He seemed interested to see if I'd speak to him again, so I nodded in his direction. "Good morning, Lord Vile. You had a good night?" He tilted his head in indifference. He seemed to be trying to communicate in return. I looked at him, reading his glance, then smiled.

"Yes, I slept well, thank you. Don't look so surprised. I've been with my Vile for decades now. I can read his face, even if he doesn't believe me. I can read how he looks at me, though he won't believe that, either. He's a very annoying man at times. Not mostly, but sometimes. But he's trained me to fight, so there is that." Vile's interest seemed perked. Skulduggery told me to use my own judgment as to what to tell Lord Vile. He had no problem with Vile knowing about the Sanctuary or his work, he even thought it would help. But he left the telling up to me.

"He's taught me all sorts of things. Elemental magic, combat maneuvers, that sort of thing. Not Necromancy though. He has a deep and abiding hatred for it. Sometimes I think he hates me because of it, I know he hates my ring." I looked over at Vile, he seemed slightly angry. I shrugged. "He no longer wears his armour, he left that part of him behind a long time ago. He told me once there was no longer a point left to being what he was any longer. So he became something different."

Vile seemed thoughtful, but said nothing. "We track people, we fight them, rarely, very rarely we kill them if there is no other choice. We make arrests mostly." Vile to his credit seemed to take the news well.

"I don't know how you became Lord Vile, but he, he lost his family. That is what made him into Lord Vile. But he stopped for some reason, he would never say why. I didn't meet him until hundreds of years after. He's over four hundred now, though I wouldn't have placed him over forty if he hadn't said anything. He wears his age well." Now where was this coming from? I had to get back on track.

"Back to what we do, then. We make arrests, we try to keep people from ending the world. He'd had the ability to end the world himself, but he said it just never seemed worth it. Unfortunately a lot of people don't agree with him. We've managed to beat them back though, so far at any rate."

Vile tilted his head and I could tell he was asking why I would bother. "You want the truth? I wouldn't bother. I couldn't care less about the world if I tried, but I care about him. He taught me everything I know about being a decent human being and although I don't find it fair that he holds me up to standards he didn't live up to himself at one time, I listen."

Vile's gaze seemed to grow cold. He didn't seem to like the idea of me showing disrespect for what Skulduggery taught me, he looked at me hard. "Go ahead and try something." I said calmly. "I said I'd keep you alive, I didn't say in how many pieces." He glared at me, and I fell silent. I honestly thought I was doing him more harm than good. I didn't talk to him for the rest of the day and he seemed fine with that.

* * *

That night I tended the fire, then looked at him. He still hadn't moved, and I regretted my sharp tongue. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. But he and I fight all the time. Though he is usually the one fighting for morals and I think they get in the way of things."

Vile looked over, his gaze almost seemed worried. I felt myself soften toward him. If this was a future Skulduggery I had to do better than this. "I'm sorry. No, I am. I just miss him so much right now. I didn't think it would be this hard being away from him, but it is. I'm used to seeing him every day, hearing his voice, enjoying his company. I can't even go a half day without talking to him at least. Sorry. He's really a decent, kind, and honourable man. A true gentleman, and my best friend. I'm just not taking being away from him very well. Sorry."

I looked away from Vile, refusing to cry in front of him though I'd felt tears in my eyes as I spoke. I did miss Skulduggery, I missed him so much I was surprised my heart kept beating. But he'd trusted me to do this. He'd sent me here, trusting me to help. "I made it two whole days so far, if we're lucky I'll make it longer. Have you ever missed anyone like that? Ever loved anyone to the point where you'd rather be with them than anywhere else, Lord Vile?"

I looked at him, but he shifted his eyes away from me. Of course, his family. How thickheaded could I be? "He'd be yelling at me right now of course, telling me he isn't worth getting upset over, but he is. He'd be telling me everything he wants you to know, most of which I've seem to have forgotten. I'll admit that sometimes all I hear is the sound of his voice."

I was sure I heard a snort this time. "What? He has a wonderful speaking voice. It's velvety, smooth, he's well aware of it too. Well sometimes he is, most of the time he pretends he isn't that distracting." Now what had I said that for? I felt heat rise to my face. I should blush, now Lord Vile must think he was dealing with some lovestruck apprentice.

I could feel his amusement. "What? I'm not in love." I growled. I swore I heard the faintest laughter and I glared at him. "I am not in love with Lord Vile. He's just, distracting at times, that's all."

I could feel Lord Vile's smile. He clearly didn't believe me for an instant.

* * *

The next morning I didn't move as soon as I was awake. I knew the portal wasn't due to open for another eleven days. A long time to hide if something went wrong. Why had Skulduggery sent me here? What good was I possibly doing? I couldn't even believe it when it had been suggested, but apparently people from this time and place had made contact. Whatever they'd done to Lord Vile would keep him from moving, drained his shadows, and apparently left him in a better mood than normal, though I was well aware he could be biding his time.

I felt alone and confused, and I didn't want to admit it, but I realized I'd felt towards the Lord Vile of my reality the same way I felt towards Skulduggery, something I tried not to think about. I sighed and got up, finding a new basket of food and fresh water. Lord Vile seemed far away again and I wondered if it was his version of meditating. I'd had breakfast, sat lost in thought, and was considering lunch when I could feel him return to life. He glanced over, seemingly unsure if he'd find me.

Then it hit me. What if this was the cave where Lord Vile made his decision and left his armour? What if I somehow was here to help him choose that path? But why me and not Skulduggery? Still I nodded to him in greeting, wondering if there was a way to reach him. "Do you ever get tired of being Lord Vile?" I asked.

His gaze met mine and I knew he had. He was tired of being Lord Vile. So that's what I was here for. I looked at him, choosing my words carefully. "Someone here obviously thinks you can change. We're being protected, and I was brought here to be with you. Maybe you have a partner waiting for you in your future. You don't have to choose to continue as you are, you can change."

He shifted his gaze away. "Lord Vile saved me in more ways than one, you know. I didn't want anything to do with the world. I was so hurt after my loss, so angry at the world. I wanted revenge. I would have just been destructive if he hadn't rescued me."

Vile looked at me again, interested. "I just couldn't process my loss. It seemed like everyone around me didn't want justice for my relative, but Vile did. He made sure I got it too. But he made sure I became a better person that I'd have liked to been. I'm not sure why, maybe because he regrets his own past, but he refuses to let me do the wrong thing when it really matters."

Vile tilted his head, and I swear he looked happy. "Of course, he will sometimes let me make terrible decisions because he says I won't learn my lesson any other way. He's right of course, though I think I learned stubbornness from him. I'm fairly sure I was the sweetest little girl you ever met before I met him."

This time I did hear soft laughter, and I realized I'd been trying to make Vile laugh. We'd only been together three days, but I liked him. I felt protective of him. He was no longer the terror of the battlefield he'd once been and I didn't mind protecting him now. I glanced over at him. "You know something? I like you. Not just for reminding me of him, but for your own self. You're intelligent, you've shown me civility, you've been protective, friendly. You're a decent man Lord Vile, far better than you think you are."

He tilted his head at me, considering. I'd noticed he could move a little more, but somehow it didn't frighten me. He hadn't tried to threaten me since the first day, and I thought even that had been more bitter defiance in the face of death than anything else.

He looked at me, wanting me to go on and I smiled at him. "This entire time people have underestimated you, haven't they? They don't see Lord Vile they see a machine, a living suit of armour they think they can exploit. They mistake you for being mindless, senseless, incapable of thought, but you aren't. You've been trapped in that armour, trapped by your anger for far too long, Lord Vile, and I know some day you'll find the strength to break free."

He looked stricken by my words, so I went and willingly sat down beside him, trying my best to ignore the searing cold of his armour. "You can't change your past, but you can change your future. You have people waiting for you, Lord Vile. People that miss you so much and wonder why you went away. I understand why you did, I truly do, and I don't judge you, not ever. You've needed to be Lord Vile to process your loss, your grief. I get that. But you are so much more than that, you are so much better than that. You were a hero once, you can be again."

He smiled behind his armour, a gauntleted hand reaching for mine. I took his, the cold seemingly not so intense any longer, or I was just getting used to it. I stayed with him like that for the longest time until he once again tilted his head towards the food basket. I smiled and squeezed his hand before getting up. He seemed so much like Skulduggery at that moment, my Skulduggery, that he was lucky I didn't kiss him.

* * *

I didn't talk much the rest of the day, but only because I didn't need to. Vile made it clear in his own way that he liked having me there beside him, so I just sat there, enjoying his company, lost in my own thoughts as he was lost in his.

After I ate that night I laid down beside him, feeling him keeping watch. I could have sworn as I fell to sleep that he had moved a gauntleted hand over to slowly stroke my head, but I was sure I was imagining things.

* * *

The rest of our time seemed to pass far more quickly than I'd have thought possible. By the dawn of the last day I found myself torn between leaving Lord Vile and going home to Skulduggery. Vile was fully capable of moving by this time, and he'd arisen before me, stoking the fire and bringing the basket to me as I arose. He cocked his head in a friendly greeting, and I smiled at him. I knew he wasn't going back to being what he was, and whatever else he needed to hear from me today, I'd let him choose. After I ate I could feel his gaze, and I knew he was eager to hear how I felt about going home. He seemed happy I'd see my own Lord Vile again.

"I will be happy to see him." I admitted. "He's my best friend, my partner, and I'll admit it, my mentor. Vile is the centre of my Universe, even if he seems blissfully unaware of it. I get up every morning just because I know he'll be there, though I know that won't always be so."

Vile looked at me, his gaze friendly, encouraging me to go on. "He's, well, he's Lord Vile. He's an independent man, I don't own him, after all. I know one day he'll just walk out the door. He won't do it to be cruel, he would never do that. I'll just have exhausted his curiosity and he'll go on to bigger and better things. To tell you the truth I think that day is coming sooner rather than later. That's why I came here, I think it is one last mission for him to have sent me on. When I return he'll have some perfectly good excuse of why we can't go on as partners, or he just won't show up one day. I've always known having him beside me was too good to last."

I gave Vile a brave smile and he crossed his arms and shook his head. I could tell he thought I was being foolish, then very idea of Skulduggery leaving seemed wrong to him. Maybe he was right, I hoped he was.

* * *

The end of the day came, and the portal opened on the cave wall. I looked at Vile. He'd become my friend, my trusted ally, and I hated leaving him alone to face going back, but I knew I had to. I folded him into a hug and felt his arms go around me in return. "Take care of yourself, Lord Vile. You have people who care about you waiting for you to come home. Don't disappoint them." He nodded as we parted, I gave him one last smile before walking through the portal.

* * *

Skulduggery was there, waiting for me, and he folded me into a massive hug, a gloved hand coming up to cradle my head into his shoulder. He walked me away from those who had gathered to greet me, taking me away to small room, closing the door so we could be alone. He hugged me to him even tighter, then spoke. "Valkyrie, I've missed you so much! I chose your disguise based on, well, based on a person I met once. A person who helped me when no one else would. She spent time with me-"

"In a cave?" I offered, and he nodded.

He looked at me, almost unsure of whether or not to continue. "It would seem you and I were lied to. You did go back into the past, but in our reality. This explains why there was always something about you I couldn't quite place. You have no idea what it has been like, waiting for a chance to repay you, to thank you for saving me."

"Skulduggery, you're my partner, my best friend. It is my job to save you."

"Yet you told Lord Vile you thought I'd just leave one day. I suppose I had that coming since I left to become Lord Vile, but I'd never leave you, Valkyrie, ever. It is good to know of course how distracting my voice is, and you apparently feel a lot more for me than you let on. You're quite pretty when you blush, by the way."

I buried my head in my hands. "You're not disappointed, Skulduggery? You weren't ever meant to find out, you know."

"No, I was. Lord Vile needed a reason to live, the thought that he'd one day have a companion as beautiful as you who cared about him, who loved him, was a great motivator. He didn't think anyone could ever love Lord Vile, but you did, you do. You gave him hope, and he should have recognized you the instant he saw you, but of course even if he had he wouldn't have known you were the woman who saved him."

"So where does this leave us" I asked, uncertain, not willing to look at him.

Skulduggery came over and gently cupped my chin in a gloved hand, lifting my face towards him.

"It leaves us wherever we choose to be." He said. Then he kissed me softly, and I was glad I'd been the one to save him.

* * *

**For those keeping track I listened to 'Lido Shuffle' by Boz Scaggs, 'I Won't Back Down' by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 'The Living Years' by Mike and The Mechanics, 'The Way It Is' by Bruce Hornsby and The Range, 'Walking in Mephis' by Marc Cohn, 'I'm Not In Love' by 10 CC and 'Back in Time' by Huey Lewis and the News whilst writing.**


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